broken action brackets

[Eugene I. Roe RPT]

Larry Fisher wrote:

> Yo,
>
> Many years ago I saw a grand with bad action brackets in it.  The
> casting
> had turned brittle like a cracker.  There were cracks, small and
> large,
> everywhere.  They were not usable anymore.  They had no strength, they
> were
> 10 minutes away from totally shattering, and I sure didn't want to try
> and
> save any part of them.  I got lucky.  APSCO had them in stock and so I
>
> R&R'd them.
> Dear Larry and list,

If the brackets are made of "pot Metal"  aluminum-zink alloy they should
not be repaired even if it seems possible. The reason is that the metal
is very unstable . If  the demensions are checked against a new cast
iron part there may be discrepencies of as much as 1/8 inch. This can
make correct regulation impossible. The Aeolian Co. Made many pianos
with the bad brackets.  They have "108"cast into them. these should
always be replaced. This can often make a piano play well again without
doing very much else. If you encounter an action for which no cast iron
replacement is available, a correctly designed set of wooden brackets
ala Chickering would be better than the pot metal.
                              Gene Roe, rpt

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